LOS ANGELES (June 9,
2008) - The PTC is urging
all CBS affiliates to preempt
the raunchy new show,
Swingtown, which
debuted last week and introduces
viewers to a world of drugs and
sexual experimentation with the
premise of open marriage at its
core.

In a statement,
PTC President Tim Winter said,
“The CBS Television Network
appears determined to reinvent
itself as a cable network. In
so doing they also appear
determined to ignore common
sense broadcast decency
standards. We are asking all
CBS affiliates to consider
pre-empting this show or to air
it later in the evening if they
believe the show’s content is
not compatible with their
community standards of decency.
CBS began this year by airing
Dexter, a premium
cable network show featuring a
serial killer ‘hero,’ and it
recently began airing extremely
violent and bloody cage fighting
matches on a program titled,
EliteXC Saturday Night Fights,
known as mixed martial arts.
It’s no coincidence that
Dexter and
EliteXC Saturday Night Fightsoriginally aired on premium
cable networks, or that
Swingtown creators
intended the program to air on
cable.”

Swingtown
undermines the institutions of
marriage and family. This show
is not suitable for children.
Swingtown is one of
the most sexually indulgent
programs we’ve seen on broadcast
television in a long time, but
is par for the course in CBS’
race to the bottom of vile and
violent television programming.
This show should not be on
broadcast television – period.

Before the debut,
CBS Entertainment President Nina
Tassler said, “I hope there are
concerns about it, I really do.
We’re going to push the envelope
with that show.” Indeed they
did. The first episode, which
aired as early as 9:00 p.m. in
the Central/Mountain time zones,
featured:

The episode opens
with a visual gag suggestive of
a flight attendant performing
oral sex on a pilot

A man shown in
bed with his wife and another
woman

An orgy involving
multiple couples

A teenaged girl
removing her top and pants and
diving into the ocean wearing
only her panties

Two teens smoking
a marijuana joint

A woman cutting
cocaine on a table top and
rubbing the drug into her gums

A woman offering
another woman a Quaalude at a
party

In addition, the
“swinging” lifestyle is not only
presented as normative, it is
endorsed in the episode as
building intimacy in the
marriage.

Because
Swingtown airs as
early as 9:00 pm, CBS has
ensured that more children will
have access to this content.
CBS affiliates must act to
protect the community standards
of decency throughout this
country and pre-empt or reject
airing this show. We will hold
them accountable for obeying
community standards of decency.
Please write to your CBS
affiliate today.

To speak with a representative
from the Parents Television Council, please contact Kelly Oliver
(ext. 140) or Megan Franko (ext. 148) at (703) 683-5004.

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®)
is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment.
It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence
and profanity on television and in other media. This national
grassroots organization has more than 1.3 million members across the
United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters,
networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and
negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with
elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast
decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical
research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex,
violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is
provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices
for their own families.

Parents Television Council,
www.parentstv.org, PTC,
Clean Up TV Now, Because our children are watching, The
nation's most influential advocacy organization, Protecting
children against sex, violence and profanity in
entertainment, Parents Television Council Seal of Approval,
and Family Guide to Prime Time Television
are trademarks of the Parents Television Council.